Hi, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. It's Black History Month, and to recognize it,

we spent some time rooting around our archives to bring you some older interviews that might have relevance today.

And because history repeats itself and time is a flat circle and, you know, add in any other adage about the past never being

passed you want. Some of the conversations we found were strikingly on point to the issues we're

facing today. Take this whole book-banning thing. In some schools, prisons, and libraries

across the country, books about gender identity, race, sexuality, and even the Holocaust

are being pulled off shelves

or restricted from the curriculum.

The late Tony Morrison's books are often among the titles people are eager to ban.

In 2009, she edited a collection of essays by authors from around the world facing this question

of censorship.

It's called Burn This Book, and she told NPR's Leanne Hanson that, yeah, it's a little

absurd when her books get pulled from library shelves.

But there are places in the world where censorship isn't just something you can laugh off.

It means jail time or it means...

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods, NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Muhammad, his wives, and the Quran, the Turkish writer was charged with inciting religious hatred.

His trial resumes in late June, and if convicted, he will face up to a year in prison.

Gorsel is just one of many authors around the world whose right to free expression is being challenged.

...